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Sunday, July 18, 2010

We're rapidly losing our freedoms!

The Obama regime has taken another step in their efforts to silence their many, many critics. The most recent has been the assault on "WordPress" (blogetry)... 73,000 blogs removed as a result of federal regime censorship.

Taken down by the DOJ. The same DOJ who refused to press charges against the New Black Panthers members for their blatant and reprehensible intimidation of legal voters waiting to vote. The same DOJ who filed a lawsuit against the state of Arizona for having the balls, the guts to enforce the federal laws on the books and protect our borders, our freedoms from illegal entries... a duty to protect and serve us, the citizens of this once great nation that the federal government refuses to do.

We're becoming victims of a growing anarchy. It's an intentional growth... well thought out, by design.

Check out the story here or you can also check it out here.

Either way, we are beginning our indoctrination towards socialism whether we like it or not. If we choose to criticize, to speak out against this overbearing, over reaching government we're silenced by their backroom actions. How long are we going to have to put up with these Chicago socialists taking our rights away one right at a time? They're not even trying to hide the fact that they're hell bent on stripping us of our freedoms, our rights.

This current regime is in place and in pace to destroy our nation as we know it. To destroy our freedoms, our rights, our lives and drag us into that social experiment that's failed everywhere it's been tried... socialism.

The politicos... democrats, independents and republicans alike are making it or letting it happen. It has to stop!

The current regime serves roughly 32% of this nation's people and is running roughshod over the remaining 68%. How do you like that "change" now, Obama voters? Like it or not we're well on our way to anarchy.

There's more to read at the Noisy Room! site. Get educated.

We are being consumed from within.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Our President And Constitutional Scholar... Obama

This is an anonymous post to another blog from a very rational individual... it makes total sense and paints a really ugly picture of our current state of affairs. In short... y'all have been duped!

Remember? I didn't vote for him or his "change"... most of you did. How are you liking that "change" now fools?

Here goes... read it and learn something:

FROM: An individual who wishes to remain anonymous...

"Our fearless leader is absolutely amazing! I think I love him more and more each day. I have to admire the brazen bravery it takes for a constitutional scholar to stand and say, “So after they drove the car into the ditch, made it as difficult as possible for us to pull it back, now they want the keys back. (Laughter.) No! (Laughter and applause.) You can’t drive! (Applause.) We don’t want to have to go back into the ditch! We just got the car out! (Applause.) We just got the car out!”

Really it is amazing nerve to be the President of the United States and know that you can look the American people in the eye and lie to them with the knowledge that a complicit media will either be so ignorant of the constitution or so lock step with your agenda that they won't challenge you!

Remember the prosperity of the 80's when Reagan lead and convinced the congress into accepting his plans? Remember the prosperity of the 90's? Things really got hot after the Republicans took control of the House (constitutional purse strings) in 1995. By 1998 we had budget surpluses and our economy was on fire. By 2001, a natural down swing began and just as the constitution allowed, the leader, Bush asked the Congress to follow his agenda and create a business friendly environment using tax breaks and tax cuts. We managed to keep our economy sailing even though we had 2 wars and natural disasters to set us back. By 2004, the climate in our country was changing. Folks against the wars were disgruntled and began roaring for change. Americans weren't worried about a glowing economy and allowed the DEMS to take the house. By 2006 the DEMS had both houses and Barney Frank and company held the purse strings. They had some marvelous ideas … ratcheting up spending for their pet projects and forcing Fanny and Freddy to make loans to folks who had no means of paying for the money. In 2008, gas prices nearly tripled in a 4 month span and all of us were tapped out of cash... the poor most completely. The housing crisis exploded and we brought President Obama in to save our world. Just what was he able to convince his Congress to do?

Well, the first thing he did was make sure the folks that borrowed money they could never repay were helped out by those of us who could never afford to borrow the money in the first place. (I am a tax payer but wasn't dumb enough to be seduced by the loan offers of the time) Then, he found a way to force Health Care on us … which folks... read it and find out... raises the cost of health care for folks that pay for it. (me again!) Now, he's going to destroy domestic oil production and put all those folks out of work so that he can get his Congress to pass the Cap and Tax scam!

Folks, the Republicans aren't much better drivers than the DEMS – but let me say this – when your constitutional scholar president stands in front of you and smiles as he purposely misleads you – PLEASE don't let him get away with it! The Republicans drive poorly, but the DEMS are the ones who put the car in the ditch and the DEMS are the ones who maxed out the American Tax Payer Credit Card trying to fix the wreck with patch work parts that are going to fall off as soon as we get a few miles down the road. SHAME on you Mr. President and shame on all of us for being so ignorant that we would allow him to speak falsely without challenge."


Very well put! Sadly, it's on the mark.

Thursday, March 04, 2010

You Just Have To Love It!

Here's a copy of an actual passport application letter that was forwarded to me by a good friend the other day. He did not write it, he had it sent to him by someone else. I have no idea who the author is but I have to admit it's darned good! The problem is that it's so true!!!


Dear Mrs. Ms. or Sir:


I'm in the process of renewing my passport and still cannot believe this.. How is it that Radio Shack has my address and telephone number and knows that I bought a cable TV from them in 1987 (22 years ago), and yet, the Federal Government is still asking me where I was born and on what date.
For Christ sakes, do you guys do this by hand? Ever heard of computers? My birth date you have in my social security file. It's on EVERY income tax form I've filed for the past 30 years. It's on my Medicare health insurance card and my driver's license, It's on the last eight damn passports I've had, It's on every stupid customs declaration form I've had to fill out before being allowed off the plane for the last 30 years. And it's on all those census forms that we have to do at election times. Would somebody please take note, once and for all, that my mother's name is Maryanne, my father's name is Robert and I'm reasonably confident that neither name is likely to change between now and when I die. Between you an' me, I've had enough of this bureaucratic bullshit! You send the application to my house, then you ask me for my f______g address. What is going on? You must have a gang of bureaucratic Neanderthal morons working there! Look at my damn picture. Do I look like Bin Laden? And "No," I don't want to dig up Yasser Arafat, for shit sakes. I just want to go and park my ass on a sandy beach.

And would someone please tell me, why would you give a damn whether I plan on visiting a farm in the next 15 days? If I ever got the urge to do something weird to a chicken or a goat, believe you me, I'd sure as hell not want to tell anyone!

Well, I have to go now because I have to go to the other end of the city and get another f______ g copy of my birth certificate - to the tune of $100. Would it be so difficult to have all the services in the same area so I could get a new passport the same day? Nooooo, that would require planning and organization. And it would be too logical for the f_______g government.
You'd rather have us running all over the place like chickens with our heads cut off. Then, we have to find some asshole to confirm that it's really me on the damn picture - you know, the one where we're not allowed to smile. Hey, you know why we can't smile? We're totally pissed off!



Signed - An Irate Citizen.


P.S. Remember what I wrote about getting someone to confirm that the picture is me? Well, my family has been in the United States of America since 1776. I have served in the military for something over 35 years and have had security clearances up the yingyang. However, I have to get someone important to verify who I am - you know, someone like my doctor WHO WAS BORN AND RAISED IN INDIA ! And you assholes want to run our health care system?????

Saturday, December 12, 2009

health care reform???

I was reading some health highlights for December 11, 2009 today and there was this one particular highlight that bothered me a lot...

"Senate Bill Would Let Insurers Limit Annual Medical Costs

Patient advocates are upset about language in the Senate health care bill that would allow insurers to put yearly limits on medical care costs for people with expensive-to-treat illnesses such as cancer.

The bill would permit annual limits, as long as they're not "unreasonable," the Associated Press reported. But there's no actual definition of what level of limits would be permitted.

Such limits would have been banned under legislation passed by the Senate health committee last summer. However, a weakened version of that provision is in the bill the Senate is now considering.

The change surprised officials at the American Cancer Society Action Network, who said they haven't been able to get a satisfactory explanation, the AP reported.

"We don't know who put it in, or why it was put in," said group policy expert Stephen Finan.
"

The current health "care" discussions and proposals happening in the "other Washington" are really, really catching my eye. I'm not sure where anyone else stands relating to the proposed health "care" reform ideas being debated in this country but I think putting yearly limits on payment for care paid out by the insurance companies smacks of favors and sellouts to those companies. I'm of the belief that if there are to be any limits placed on anything relating to health care have those limits be for payouts relating to litigated monetary awards and settlements! Certainly not on yearly limits of those health care costs an insurance company pays out annually.

That's just another not so subtle attempt to create those alleged death lists. Cutting off care for the terminally ill or others in need of specialized care simply because it's too expensive isn't and should never be an option!

That IS unreasonable!

As the AP article mentioned, those limits were banned by last summer's legislation and now the politicos are trying to sneak it past us again in this boondoggled universal health care fiasco.

What gives? Why are our "representatives", those politicos we sent to D.C. to represent us... why are they trying to ram this legislation, this poorly written vessel of pork down our throats?

If there's to be universal health care do it right! Take your time, don't set a timeline on it. Gather your experts, your reasonable and practical people together (if they exist) and create a proposal that not only makes sense but can be fairly and reasonably applied to every citizen of this fine country without limitations. If you can't do that then get out of the way and let others do it. Don't do what you're doing! Don't piecemeal something together, don't cater to the special interests of lobbyists, insurance companies and the health care industry, don't play politics with our health... don't effect change just to effect change... it doesn't make sense.

Represent us, the citizens of this fine country who entrusted you to represent us not them, those who stand to gain politically and monetarily if or when the legislation passes.

This stuff simply makes no sense outside of greed!

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Facts Relating to the Second Amendment...

These were sent to me in an email. How true they are!

1. "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not."
~Thomas Jefferson

2. “Those who trade liberty for security have neither.” ~John Adams

3. Free men do not ask permission to bear arms.

4. An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.

5. Only a government that is afraid of its citizens tries to control them.

6. Gun control is not about guns; it's about control.

7. You only have the rights you are willing to fight for.

8. Know guns, know peace, know safety. No guns, no peace, no safety.

9. You don't shoot to kill; you shoot to stay alive.

10. Assault is a behavior, not a device.

11. 64,999,987 firearms owners killed no one yesterday.

12. The United States Constitution (c) 1791. All Rights Reserved.

13. The Second Amendment is in place in case the politicians ignore the others.

14. What part of 'shall not be infringed' do you NOT understand?

15. Guns have only two enemies; rust and politicians.

16. When you remove the people's right to bear arms, you create slaves.

17. The American Revolution would never have happened with gun control.


Don't let Obama and his cronies take our rights away!

Sunday, August 16, 2009

What this government can do for you!

Whether you want it or not.

I read an interesting post over at the Blue Crab Boulevard site this morning. Gaius posts an interesting suggestion that the "left" in this country is far removed from liberal. It's argued that those politicos who comprise the current left "are more authoritarian than the culture that the Woodstock generation rebelled against."

I'm inclined to agree. I've thought this for quite some time... that the "left", the current politicos in power are beyond liberal. Granted, some of their ideologies were spawned in liberalism (social health care, immigrant amnesty, cap and trade, global warming, etc.) but that's where it ends.

Step back and take a look at what's happening. Peel back the rhetoric, the glossy spin by the media, the veil of deceit. This particular political administration is building a foundation of control! A foundation that will support total, tyrannical social and economic dependence. A foundation to support subtle (for now) yet suffocating government influence in our daily lives.

This government is not "liberal" or "conservative" as we know it. They tapped into the liberal base of this fine nation to garnish support for their overall agenda and got it with promises yet to be realized. They tapped into that base to divide, conquer and control... to deflect from their true agenda. Their agenda was not created for us, the citizens. It's not designed to be a four or eight year ride and it's certainly not a new, innovative theme. The basic plan is clear... control, AUTHORITY!

Given their current agenda, they propose that the government feeds off of communal wealth, the government shall provide to the populace what the government deems necessary, the government shall deny to the populace what the government forbids, the government shall punish and tax individual success.

It's quite frankly an agenda of control and authority that we're being force fed. Currently, we're not buying it. We're questioning their intentions, their goals and we need to! We need to continue to question, to deny, to resist this administration's attempts to herd us into their paddocks of authority, control. We're independent sorts with freedom, individuality, independence and pride flowing through our veins.

Why would we give up what we have, what we want, what we know... our dreams, our very existence to blindly follow a shadowy group of politicos into a future of servitude?

Nope, this new LEFT government is not liberal by any means! They're very authoritarian, very controlling and very focused on their goals. Quite frankly they're a threat to our freedoms, our very existence as we know it. To them it's all about control, authority, POWER!

Yeah, we were promised change! Personally, I can live without their proposed changes.

Power corrupts!

Friday, August 14, 2009

What the socialized health care proposal can do for you!

Here's the full Health Care bill that sits in the House. Here is a link to the House Bill, H.R.3200. It's a long read!

The following information was forwarded to me from a blogger in Montana. If you're even curious about whether the proposed socialized health care is good for us as citizens, as a nation you might want to look at the comments made by Peter Fleckstein as Peter wades through the 1,000 plus pages of the bill. He's taken the time to analyze in layman terms what the bill is all about.

Here's some of his comments he "tweeted" over the past several days:

Peter Fleckstein (aka Fleckman) is reading it and has been posting on Twitter his findings. I'm not sure who Peter is but I will google him after I make this post. This is from his postings (Note: All comments are Fleckman's)

Pg 22 of the HC Bill MANDATES the Govt will audit books of ALL EMPLOYERS that self insure!!
Pg 30 Sec 123 of HC bill - THERE WILL BE A GOVT COMMITTEE that decides what treatments/benefits u get
Pg 29 lines 4-16 in the HC bill - YOUR HEALTHCARE IS RATIONED!!!
Pg 42 of HC Bill - The Health Choices Commissioner will choose UR HC Benefits 4 you. U have no choice!
PG 50 Section 152 in HC bill - HC will be provided 2 ALL non US citizens, illegal or otherwise
Pg 58HC Bill - Govt will have real-time access 2 individs finances & a National ID Healthcard will b issued!
Pg 59 HC Bill lines 21-24 Govt will have direct access 2 ur banks accts 4 elect. funds transfer
PG 65 Sec 164 is a payoff subsidized plan 4 retirees and their families in Unions & community orgs (ACORN).
Pg 72 Lines 8-14 Govt is creating an HC Exchange 2 bring priv HC plans under Govt control.
PG 84 Sec 203 HC bill - Govt mandates ALL benefit pkgs 4 priv. HC plans in the Exchange
PG 85 Line 7 HC Bill - Specs for of Benefit Levels for Plans = The Govt will ration ur Healthcare!
PG 91 Lines 4-7 HC Bill - Govt mandates linguistic approp svcs. Example - Translation 4 illegal aliens
Pg 95 HC Bill Lines 8-18 The Govt will use groups i.e., ACORN & Americorps 2 sign up indiv. for Govt HC plan
PG 85 Line 7 HC Bill - Specs of Ben Levels 4 Plans.#AARP members - U Health care WILL b rationed
-PG 102 Lines 12-18 HC Bill - Medicaid Eligible Indiv. will b automat.enrolled in Medicaid. No choice
pg 124 lines 24-25 HC No company can sue GOVT on price fixing. No "judicial review" against Govt Monop
pg 127 Lines 1-16 HC Bill - Doctors/#AMA - The Govt will tell YOU what u can make.
Pg 145 Line 15-17 An Employer MUST auto enroll employees into pub opt plan. NO CHOICE
Pg 126 Lines 22-25 Employers MUST pay 4 HC 4 part time employees AND their families.
Pg 149 Lines 16-24 ANY Emplyr w payroll 400k & above who does not prov. pub opt. pays 8% tax on all payroll
pg 150 Lines 9-13 Biz w payroll btw 251k & 400k who doesnt prov. pub. opt pays 2-6% tax on all payroll
Pg 167 Lines 18-23 ANY individual who doesnt have acceptable HC accrdng 2 Govt will be taxed 2.5% of inc
Pg 170 Lines 1-3 HC Bill Any NONRESIDENT Alien is exempt from indiv. taxes.(Americans will pay)
Pg 195 HC Bill -officers & employees of HC Admin (GOVT) will have access 2 ALL Americans finan/pers recs
PG 203 Line 14-15 HC - "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax" Yes, it says that
Pg 239 Line 14-24 HC Bill Govt will reduce physician svcs 4 Medicaid. Seniors, low income, poor affected
Pg 241 Line 6-8 HC Bill - Doctors, doesnt matter what specialty u have, you'll all be paid the same
PG 253 Line 10-18 Govt sets value of Dr's time, prof judg, etc. Literally value of humans.
PG 265 Sec 1131Govt mandates & controls productivity for private HC industries
PG 268 Sec 1141 Fed Govt regulates rental & purchase of power driven wheelchairs
PG 272 SEC. 1145. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN CANCER HOSPITALS - Cancer patients - welcome to rationing!
Page 280 Sec 1151 The Govt will penalize hospitals 4 what Govt deems preventable readmissions.
Pg 298 Lines 9-11 Drs, treat a patient during initial admiss that results in a readmiss-Govt will penalize u.
Pg 317 L 13-20 OMG!! PROHIBITION on ownership/investment. Govt tells Drs. what/how much they can own.
Pg 317-318 lines 21-25,1-3 PROHIBITION on expansion- Govt is mandating hospitals cannot expand
pg 321 2-13 Hospitals have oppt to apply for exception BUT community input required. Can u say ACORN?!!
Pg335 L 16-25 Pg 336-339 - Govt mandates estab. of outcome based measures. HC the way they want. Rationing
Pg 341 Lines 3-9 Govt has authority 2 disqual Medicare Adv Plans, HMOs, etc. Forcing peeps in2 Govt plan
Pg 354 Sec 1177 - Govt will RESTRICT enrollment of Special needs ppl! WTF. My sis has down syndrome!!
Pg 379 Sec 1191 Govt creates more bureaucracy - Telehealth Advisory Cmtte. Can u say HC by phone?
PG 425 Lines 4-12 Govt mandates Advance Care Planning Consult. Think Senior Citizens end of life
Pg 425 Lines 17-19 Govt will instruct & consult regarding living wills, durable powers of atty. Mandatory!
PG 425 Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3 Govt provides apprvd list of end of life resources, guiding u in death
PG 427 Lines 15-24 Govt mandates program 4 orders 4 end of life. The Govt has a say in how ur life ends
Pg 429 Lines 1-9 An "adv. care planning consult" will b used frequently as patients health deteriorates
PG 429 Lines 10-12 "adv. care consultation" may incl an ORDER 4 end of life plans. AN ORDER from GOV
Pg 429 Lines 13-25 - The govt will specify which Doctors can write an end of life order.
PG 430 Lines 11-15 The Govt will decide what level of treatment u will have at end of life
Pg 469 - Community Based Home Medical Services=Non profit orgs. Hello, ACORN Medical Svcs here!!?
Page 472 Lines 14-17 PAYMENT TO COMMUNITY-BASED ORG. 1 monthly payment 2 a community-based org. Like ACORN?
PG 489 Sec 1308 The Govt will cover Marriage & Family therapy. Which means they will insert Govt in2 ur marriage
Pg 494-498 Govt will cover Mental Health Svcs including defining, creating, rationing those svcs

And Peter's not done!!! How in the hell can we expect our political representatives to adequately represent us when they're advocating crap like what's been divulged in this proposed bill so far?

Peter hasn't even got half way through the bill! And look at the common language, plain text explanations of what's being proposed.

Folks, THIS IS SERIOUS!!! I don't know about you but I for one don't want to lose my current coverage, doctor and existing health plan. I also don't want a bunch of fat cat politicos who think they're my supreme advisor making decisions for me that will eventually affect my and my family's quality of life.

I don't want our employees, those who were selected by us, the fine citizens of this fantastic nation to stuff an ill advised, socialized, dangerous health care bill down our throats against our will!

Those senators, representatives and other drones back there in Washington D.C. had better WAKE UP and LISTEN! They work for US! We sent them back to that political circus to get things done that we want done! Not what they think needs to be done even though we, the citizens are against it!

I say NO! to this health care reform bill! NO! to any politico who supports it! NO! to the Brian Bairds, Patty Murrays, Adam Smiths, Arlen Specters, Nancy Pelosis, Ted Kennedys, Howard Deans, Jim McDermotts, Barney Franks, Barbara Boxers, Joe Bidens, Barry Obamas and all others who insist they know what's best for us! NO! to those who support this bill!

I am not a political terrorist. I am not a Nazi. I am not a racist! I am not politically inclined! I am not a hooligan! I am in fact, more patriotic than you, our elected politicos evidently!. I am a blue collar, well educated, average, everyday, hard working, taxpaying, proud American family man, a citizen of this fine, fine United States of America! I don't need some political fat cat so far removed from my life, my existence to force feed me something I don't want for me or my family!

It appalls me to see some of these politicos who thought for years that they're untouchable try to belittle and degrade the very citizens of this country who elected them into that fat cat job they have in the first place. Where's that REPRESENTATION we were promised when you first campaigned and were elected into your office by us, the citizens of this fine nation!

Just because some of us speak out against your foolhardy, politically inclined socialist plans doesn't mean we're unpatriotic, racists, radicals, terrorists, nazis who have nothing better to do than complain and disrupt your process of gaining control.

We're done with you. We're speaking out and we're demanding answers. You work for US! Don't abandon your morals to gain control! Do what's right for once and listen to the citizens that put you where you are! Drop this socialized nonsense... health care reform, immigration, cap and trade, bailouts, etc. Drop this stuff and work on something real, something that will positively affect this country, us citizens as a whole!

If you want health care reform start focusing on TORT REFORM! Limit the damages awarded to attorneys and their clients when it comes to malpractice lawsuits! Tighten the rules and protect the health care we currently have. Reduce the costs of drugs by sharing the costs of development with the rest of the world. Provide free or reduced priced health care to those who truly need it but don't take away what's already here! Don't deprive my family and I of the health care I currently have!

Finally, if you're going to shove it down our throats... if you still insist on that politicos then abandon your health care that we provide to you and sign on to the plan you're proposing and insisting is better for us, the general population!

I say vote them all out and start over!

This whole health care reform idea currently on the table is a fiasco. It's poorly authored, caters to special interest groups, establishes unwarranted and dangerous controls on the lives of the fine citizens of this country and is wrought with greed, contempt and corruption!

Monday, August 10, 2009

The Manning Report...

I had the following link sent to me early last week. His "The Manning Report" is captivating. Watch it, WOW!

Reverend James David Manning is trying to make a difference? He sure is. He appears pretty fed up with the way things are going. Just listen in on one of his reports posted. After listening to him there's really not much left to say!

If you're interested in learning more about Reverend Manning and his views go to his ministries site HERE.







--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunday, August 09, 2009

Now a Response From a Senator...

...to the same email.

Patty Murray (D- Washington State) answered the same email with the following message.

On Wed, 7/29/09, Senator@murray.senate.gov wrote:


From: Senator@murray.senate.gov
Subject: Response from Senator Murray
To: ########
Date: Wednesday, July 29, 2009, 2:49 PM

Dear ########:

Thank you for writing me to share your thoughts on health care reform. It is good to hear from you.

Health care reform is one of the most critical issues facing our nation. Our current health care system is unstable and unsustainable. Too many people do not have health care coverage and many of those who have coverage are worried about losing it in this uncertain economy. Businesses and families are finding it harder and harder to deal with increasing health care premiums.

In addition, Washington state family budgets cannot sustain the continual rise in health care costs and hidden taxes in the form of rising premiums to cover the uninsured. If we do not get health care costs under control, local, state and federal government budgets will have to take on the weight of rising health care costs. While health care reform may require an initial cost investment, I strongly believe that it will pay off in the long term and the cost letting the system become more unstable is much greater. Without reform to our health care system, premiums will continue to rise, coverage will become more uncertain, businesses will lose competitiveness and it will be harder for Americans to have access to care.

After months of hearings and over 50 hours of public markups, I was pleased that on July 15th, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee passed the Affordable Health Choices Act. The Affordable Health Choices Act lays out policy changes for health care reform in America. This package works to rein in health care costs with a goal of lowering them in the long term and ensure that all Americans have access to high quality, affordable health care coverage. It allows those who like their health insurance to keep it and provides options to those who do not have access to health insurance coverage.

This bill includes provisions to implement several key health insurance reforms. For example, insurance companies would no longer be able to refuse coverage to individuals due to preexisting conditions, patients' out-of-pocket expenses would be limited and all annual and lifetime caps on insurance coverage would be eliminated.

The passage of the Affordable Health Choices Act out of the HELP Committee is a major step in the longer process of health care reform. The Senate Finance Committee is also working on many aspects of health care reform and the Affordable Health Choices Act will need to be combined with this legislation in the future. The Finance Committee is expected to release their proposal soon. In addition, the House of Representatives is working on a separate version of health care reform legislation.

As the Senate moves forward on health care reform legislation, I will be weighing the many concerns that I am hearing from constituents all across Washington state. As this effort continues, I will certainly keep your thoughts in mind. You can find more information on my Website at http://murray.senate.gov/healthcarereform/.

Again, thank you for contacting me about this important issue. If you would like to know more about my work in the Senate, please feel free to sign up for my weekly updates at http://murray.senate.gov/updates. Please keep in touch.

I hope all is well in Lacey.


Post comments.

Again, general discussion about the professed evils of our current system yet no real substantive fixes. I took particular note of her comments...

"This package works to rein in health care costs with a goal of lowering them in the long term and ensure that all Americans have access to high quality, affordable health care coverage.

Yet the plan is to provide health care to everyone! Including the illegal aliens who are pouring across our borders daily. Once we get this health care reform shoved down our throats we won't be able to fit into the hospital's and clinic's reception areas. They'll be crowded with non-citizens demanding health care.

Further, she states "It allows those who like their health insurance to keep it and provides options to those who do not have access to health insurance coverage. But what she really fails to mention is the fact that we, those of us who chose to purchase health care, already have our coverage! and those who didn't opt to purchase health care already have coverage via the emergency rooms and free clinics throughout the nation! albeit lacking at times. But then again, they get what they pay for. That's the chance they took when they opted not to participate in a health care plan.

Now, a reply to Murray's letter:

Ms. Murray,

Does this mean you'll be participating in the same health care system you're trying to compel your constituents to participate in? Will you be foregoing your publicly provided blue ribbon health care as a Senator to participate in the version being prepared for us, the citizens? I'd be real interested in knowing the answer to that question... from you and your "colleagues", our public servants. I realize there's a proposed provision that "allows those who like their health insurance to keep it" however, with the proposed plan I see no incentives for the private Fee For Service providers to maintain certain coverages.

Unlike the health care plans Congressional, Judicial and Executive government employees are provided by the public I don't see those of us who do have reliable and reasonable health care coverages being carried much longer by the private companies after this proposed "plan" kicks in. Be realistic Senator, your plans are to tax us and them out of our coverages! Tell the truth!

So, until you and all of the other PUBLIC SERVANTS in Washington D.C. sign on to the proposed public health care plan (without perks!) I will continue to be opposed to it... and to you and to every other public servant who votes for it... republican, democrat, whatever.

If you want true control of costs associated with the health care system you should look to establish some sort of tort reform to the current structure. Eliminate those HUGE, exorbitant payouts to attorneys for attorney fees, etc. Face the REAL problems and fix those! Don't create a problem that really doesn't exist and certainly don't label it a "critical issue"!

Get on with the tort reform relating to health care lawsuits, not health care reform. My health care works great.

There's a bunch of us out here who aren't buying into government's health care proposals.

Thanks for your reply.

######,
A taxpaying Washington State, USA citizen.


P.S.

Things are fine in Lacey, thank you.

A Representative's Reply...

...to a health care query emailed to him in July.

Here's Representative Adam Smith's (D- Washington State) reply to an email to him addressing concerns regarding the government's proposed health care reforms. The letter was much like the open letter that I posted on this blog last month.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

--- On Fri, 7/24/09, Representative Adam Smith wrote:

From: Representative Adam Smith
Subject: Re: IMA MAIL ON WEBHEA
To: dher490@yahoo.com
Date: Friday, July 24, 2009, 8:12 AM

July 24, 2009

Dear ######,

The United States Congress is entering a critical stage in the effort to reform our country's health care system. I believe very strongly that, with the right legislation, we can provide quality, affordable care to all Americans while controlling costs and improving quality.

The House has now introduced, through a tri-committee process, its first bill aimed at substantially changing that system. I fear, however, that this bill doesn't recognize the need for reform that will not only create universal access for all Americans, but that also fundamentally changes our broken and inefficient health care system to control costs and improve quality. The cost of adding the nearly 50 million uninsured Americans into our current health care system without structural changes in health care delivery, as this bill does, could collapse the health system. And, by so doing, we will have missed a tremendous opportunity to change how all Americans receive health care in ways that will address the significant shortfalls that currently exist in the quality of that care.

The Tri-Committee legislation, while it makes great strides toward covering more Americans, is unsustainable. The draft is too expensive and misses the most fundamental problems with our current system. We will be unable to provide quality care for those Americans who would gain coverage under this legislation if we do not remedy the current wasteful spending and out of control costs in health care. Further, I am concerned that the Obama Administration has released several promising ideas but has not yet put forth a solid legislative proposal around which Congressional leaders can coalesce.

Achieving the essential goal of affordable health care and universal access to care can only be achieved and sustained through cost containment measures. In this country we do too many unnecessary tests, prescribe too many unnecessary drugs, perform too many unnecessary surgeries, and have too many unnecessary hospitalizations. With greater emphasis on primary care, prevention, and paying for quality outcomes instead the amount of services there is a way to reform health care that could not only rein in costs, but could also improve the quality of care dramatically.

If we are going to be able to provide universal coverage to all Americans without bankrupting our economy, we have to eliminate fee-for-service (FFS) medicine. It has led to massive overutilization of treatment and tests. The current FFS model, and basis of our health system, rewards the quantity of services provided rather than the quality of care. In this system, providers are overburdened and incentivized to fit in too many patients. Providers must rush through appointments, which means that they can often order treatments, tests, and specialists that they may have otherwise determined to be unnecessary if they were afforded more time with their patients.

Unfortunately, however, the debate on overhauling FFS medicine has taken a disappointing turn in Congress. The argument has been made that, if we move away from FFS, it will lead to rationing of necessary tests and treatments. Correcting the flawed FFS system is not about rationing medicine or valuing one kind of care over another. Rather, it is about more efficiently expending resources. There are studies that show that regions of the country that spend the most on health care and perform the most tests and procedures have a lower quality of care than those areas that have lower costs. The debate, then, should not be about denying care but about reducing overutilization of unnecessary services and promoting higher quality care, both of which save money.

The problem is particularly apparent in Medicare where the reimbursement rate formula fails to reward efficient health care regions at a fair rate and overutilization is rampant. As a result, Washington state and others like it with very efficient health systems, where providers order fewer unnecessary tests and treatments, have very low reimbursement rates compared to other regions of the country.

This system is not only unfair to states like Washington, it is incredibly wasteful and unsustainable for the entire health care system. Providers are paid for the amount of care whether or not it is of high quality and in the best interest of the patient. The Tri-Committee bill does nothing to reform this system, and also adds to the problem by basing the public option on this same failed fee-for-service reimbursement model.

If health care reform rewarded doctors for the quality of the care they provide, rather than the quantity of tests, referrals, and visits, we could greatly reduce the amount of services and provide better, more efficient care and cover more Americans in a sustainable way.

I believe a public plan option and broader health reform is our opportunity to get off of fee-for-service medicine. I am supportive of a public option that includes both a reformulated reimbursement system and a focus on preventative care with discounts for people that make progress on preventable and controllable heath conditions.

As you know, preventative care is about more than tests and taking medications, it is also about promoting healthy behaviors and individual engagement. Health care should be a shared responsibility between patients and providers and that should be reflected in how people pay for insurance. There are several common preventable, controllable, health conditions that can lead to larger problems such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, and smoking. Pricing that rewards efforts to improve or control these problems is not only fair, but also incentivizes individuals to actively engage in their own health, ultimately driving down the cost of care.

Many companies that self-insure their employees have had great success with risk-based pricing. The system they uses gives discounts to people who make progress on or control the issues mentioned above and charges people who don't control them more. Using this model, these companies have had great success with not only improving the health of their employees, but also with keeping health care costs low while the rest of the country saw inflation in costs. There is no reason why this model could or should not be applied to all federal health care programs including the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) in which Members of Congress participate.

The Tri-Committee bill makes great progress toward covering more Americans. But, the introduced legislation makes minimal progress toward containing costs which will mean that our health system will remain unsustainable, our federal debt will continue to grow, and the burden of an excessively expensive health care system will continue to be an impediment to economic growth.

It is also important for the White House to take a more active role in formulating health care reform legislation. To date, the Obama administration, while very supportive of Congressional efforts to reform health care, has not yet introduced its own legislative text. It is necessary for the White House to contribute concrete ideas to this debate so that Congress and the American people can know exactly where President Obama stands. I would encourage you to contact the White House and urge the President to present his own version of health care reform legislation.

Now is the time to fundamentally reform our health care system in a way that expands access while containing costs to instill efficiencies in the system that pay for the expansion. I am hopeful that these issues will be addressed as health care reform moves forward and I look forward to working with my colleagues and President Obama on these important issues.



Sincerely,

Adam Smith

Member of Congress



AS:sm



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Sincerely,

Adam Smith
Member of Congress


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Post comments:

Obviously, from the response given by Smith it's apparent the government has every intention of shoving this half baked plan down our throats! Smith discusses costs, preventive care, Fee For Service care, availability, etc. but fails to provide any real substance to the discussion. He does allude to expanding access while containing costs but has offered up no real ideas.

Bottom line, he's offering cool aid to us. He's lost my vote!

Here's the reply that was sent to Smith. Short and sweet. Let's see what Smith's reply will be to this query. I'll bet he won't reply.


August 09, 2009 10:43 a.m.

Adam Smith
Member of Congress


Adam,

Does this mean you'll be taking the lead and abandoning your current health care plan(s) to participate in this one that is being advocated for all of us?

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A taxpaying Washington State, USA Citizen